Write On!

              30 they weren't any better than mine. I went to look at the other items, some knitted things and a few quilts, then nonchalantly came back and glanced at the cakes indifferently to see what a judge would see at first glance. Then I felt foolish. Of course the look of a cake was just a small part of the judging; the texture, moisture and uniformity of the grain were considered of prime importance. And the taste, of course. I hadn't tasted it. Why hadn't I? Somewhere underneath where it wouldn't show. I was angry with myself. But others were looking at the cakes and talking about them. I moved on, lest they guess I was churning inside. The conference started in another room while the Home Economists, acting as judges, were busy with the baking, sewing and crafts. My mind was only half at the meeting though it was interesting. Lunchtime came and we wanted to view the competitions but were told that the judging had not been completed. Others seemed not to care; we'd have more time to visit and relax over our meal. We'd start the business earlier so that we could take time, later on, to view the exhibits. I could feel the air stand still in the room. Time was holding back. The women were making all sorts of superfluous sounds, laughing, talking and eating, just to push the time faster, or so it seemed. Later, I concentrated on the guest speaker, listened to the questions and even got into the discussions. At long last, the exhibits were ready to be viewed. Everyone was in a hurry to get to the room. I wasn't going to jump and push! I talked to a woman next to me who soon was ahead of me, so I remarked about the rush to the lady behind me who had a funny flush and steel in her eye and, before I knew it she was ahead of me, too. Anyway, I finally got into that room. Slowly, I worked down the aisles looking at articles -- oh-h-h -- one of our women got a red

ribbon for her hardanger, another received a blue for her skirt -there was a red for the whole wheat bread -- how marvelous.And
then it jumped at me - down the table - a red ribbon next to my cake! Can't be! Women were crowding around, talking and laughing. I couldn't go there now. I went over to the other side of the room to look at rugs and cushions and to get some air. I had never won anything before. How does one act? After awhile some of our members got together and we laughed and congratulated each other, hugged and giggled. We got second placing in overall points -- that was fantastic. In later years we received first prize overall and the shield several times